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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · nail · kid · patient · stock · capital

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. stock — goods
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stock — shares
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kid — child
  11. capital — money
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kid — to tease
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com